Vigils planned in DC, NY for American held in Cuba

WASHINGTON 
Simultaneous vigils are scheduled in New York and Washington for an American imprisoned in Cuba for nearly two years.

The vigils for Alan Gross are planned for Friday in front of the Cuban Interests Sections in Washington and the Cuban Mission to the United States in New York.

Gross was arrested in Cuba in December 2009 after being caught illegally bringing communications equipment onto the island. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison for crimes against the state. Gross says he was only trying to help the island's tiny Jewish community get Internet access.

A recent trip to Cuba by former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who claimed he was invited to the island to negotiate Gross' release, failed.